Super Dodge Ball (Neo Geo)
Super Dodge Ball, known in Japan as Kunio no Nekketsu Dodgeball Densetsu (くにおの熱血闘球伝説 Kunio no Nekketsu Dojjibōru Densetsu, lit. "Kunio's Hot Blooded Dodge Ball Legend") is a dodge ball-based sports game released for the Neo Geo platform in 1996. Developed by Technōs Japan Corp. and published by SNK, it was the last game the former company developed before they went out of business. The game was not officially released in Japan (only a Western version was produced, even though it was exhibited at the Japan Amusement Expo) but the game can be played with Japanese settings if the Neo Geo's motherboard is set to that region. No AES version of the game was released and MVS versions came in limited quantities. Development Game design and character design was handled by Masao Shiroto. It was developed by the Niigata studio at Technōs Japan. Gameplay The rules of the game are the same as in the arcade version of Nekketsu Kōkō Dodgeball Bu, but all characters have their own Super Shots (in this game they are known as Special Moves, while the super move of each character is named the Combination Special Move). Players are now able to defend against these shots by performing a Counter Attack at just the right time. When starting the game, the player can choose any team, and they can invite the captain of an opposing team starting from the second stage onward. They may also chose to reject a character to recruit other characters. The third character in the team is replaced first, followed by the second character. Once the original team members are replaced with a captain, they can never be reacquired. The goal of the game is to defeat all teams to reach the final boss, D.B. Maou. Upon defeating the final boss, the player will get to see the ending of their current captain. Rules Although this is a dodge ball game, the rules are different from general dodge ball rules. * Players can enter their opponent's court while holding the ball. Once they land on their court with the ball and recover, they will drop the ball. It is possible to run towards the opponent's side of the court and throw the ball in midair before landing. However, the character who did this will be defenseless as they return to their court (they can still perform a back step or a counter attack). Even if the ball is on the opposing side of the court, it is possible for a character to grab it by using a running jump. * Almost all shots can be caught by players if they attempt to catch them at the right angle. If the timing is done right, the character will take no damage, unless it is a Special Move. It is possible to catch any ball thrown at the player but if this is not done at the right angle, the character will take a small amount of damage. If the character has no health when they attempt to catch a Special or Combined Special Move they will be eliminated. * All throws are directed at the character being controlled by the player. Players must plan and maneuver their character to be able to hit a character that is not being controlled by the opposing player or is not the active target. If a character is knocked down they are defenseless until they get up. The longer the character is hit while they are down, the less damage they take. The character will also get up faster, but if they are knocked out again while getting up, the character will be defenseless again for a certain amount of time. * Just like in many fighting games, characters can get dizzy if they are hit consecutively more than 5 times. The character will be knocked down, then stand up in a stunned animation. Players can recover from being stunned by pressing the directional pad and buttons. * Each team only has three characters. There are not characters in the outer court, so if the ball falls out of bounds the player may not be able to collect it. Instead, players who have lost all of their health move to the outer court. While there, they can still use their Special Moves. * The winner of a match is decided by their remaining health or if time runs out. In the event that all three members of a team lose all their health, the surviving team wins. If time runs out, the team with the highest total health and number of surviving members will win. * If players do not throw the ball while holding it after a certain period of time, the ball will begin flashing in the character's hand, then explode. After the explosion, Angela will throw the ball to the defending team. If the ball falls on an area in which it cannot be collected by any character, Angela will pick it up and throw it at the center of the court. Controls Characters can move in eight directions using the directional pad. The controls of the game differ if the player is on Offense (when they have the ball) or on Defense (when the opponent has the ball). Regardless, pressing the directional pad twice in the opposite direction of the opponent will make the character perform a Back Step, while pressing it twice towards the opponent will make the character Run. The C''' button is used to '''Jump. When a player who has the ball collides with an opposing player, they will begin a clash to compete for possession of the ball. Players must press the A''' button repeatedly. The player with the most button presses will take possession of the ball and throw it at the losing player, who will be vulnerable to attack. If the ball is on the ground, characters will grab it automatically once they are near it. Offense Pressing the '''A button will make the character throw the ball. The B''' button has the character pass the ball to one of their teammates. With the '''D button, players can fool their opponents by faking to throw the ball. This can also be done in midair. Each character in the game has a different Shoot Type. The Normal Shoot Type is performed by running and throwing the ball. The character can make from 2 to 4 hits with the ball. Characters with the Down Shoot Type can knock down an opponent immediately by throwing the ball at an opponent while running. Jump Down Shoot Type will hit the opponent once with their running throw, but their normal throw from midair will immediately knock down the opponent. Defense The A''' is used to attempt to catch a thrown ball, which can also be performed in midair. Pressing the '''B button will make the character crouch to dodge the ball. The D''' button is used to taunt and provoke the opponent. This decreases their Power Gauge. Pressing the '''A and B''' buttons simultaneously allows characters to boost their Power Gauge. Command List The game uses fighting game-style commands for Special Moves, which are common to all characters. The commands listed on the table below are for when the character is facing right. Below is an explanation of the commands: * '''Forward, Down, Down Forward: The Shoryuken motion from the Street Fighter series, also known as the Dragon Punch motion. * Down, Down Forward, Forward: A quarter circle motion, the command for the popular Hadoken, also from the Street Fighter series. * Forward, Back, Down Back, Down, Down Forwad, Forward: A direction is pressed, followed by an half-circle motion starting from the opposite direction and ending at the direction that was first pressed. Used mostly in SNK fighting games. Characters Captains Kunio The game's main character, the hot-blooded tough guy from Nekketsu High School. His special moves have no gimmicks and are easy to handle. His counter and Special Moves can all be used in midair. His Shoot Type is a Normal 2 Hits Shot. In this game, Kunio is voiced by Ryō Horikawa. Riki A third year student at Hanazono High School, Kunio's eternal rival. Some of his moves and his Counter Technique are identical to Kunio, but both of his Special Moves are rushing techniques. In contrast with Kunio, it is harder to use Riki's Special Moves effectively, but having a Down Shoot Type allows him to put pressure on his opponent using basic throws. It also helps that both of Riki's default teammates have the Jump Down Shoot Type. In this game, Riki is voiced by Masaaki Ōkura. Miyuki A high school girl working in an amusement park and one of the original characters of the game. Her speed and jumping power in the game is the highest, allowing her easy access to the opponent's side of the court. Her Counter Technique is also strong. However, he attack power and Special Moves are weak and she struggles trying to take down teammates. She has a Normal Shoot Type, which hits 4 times. Miyuki is voiced by Yuka Koyama. Kenji The son of a pro dodge ball player who was once the rival of D.B. Maou, he is the other original character in the game. He is equipped with a spring-loaded harness for training. Kenji moves fast and he has high attack power. His Shoot Type is Normal with 3 hits. His Special Moves, particularly Muscle Killer, are powerful and he can easily defeat teammates. His Counter Technique is his only weakness, if the player does not know how to use it well they will leave themselves wide open for an attack. Kenji is voiced by Tōru Furuya. Shinji The leader of the bōsōzoku gang "Yokohama Funky" (not "Blue Emperors" in this game). His design in the game is similar to the one he had in Shin Nekketsu Kōha: Kunio-tachi no Banka, wearing a tokkō-fuku (特攻服, "special attack clothing") and a ducktail haircut. He uses irregular and unusal fighting techniques which take advantage of his skills with bikes. He has the Down Shoot Type and his default teammates complement him well. His only weakness is his Counter Technique, which is the weakest when compared to the other captain characters. Shinji is voiced by Hisao Egawa. Misuzu A giant sukeban with huge power wearing a sexy outfit. Although her attacks are simple, they are powerful rushing techniques using her chest. Misuzu's biggest weakness is that she is vulnerable at the startup of her Counter Technique, the only captain character to have this problem (although her default teammates do not have this problem). She has the Down Shoot Type. Misuzu is voiced by Keiko Yamamoto. Sabu The young head of the Sanwakai (三和会 "Sanwa Gang"). Unlike previous incarnations, this version of Sabu is an honorable hard worker. Although he has average attack power and his Special Moves are not strong, he has the strongest Combined Special Move of all captains. He has the Jump Down Shoot Type. Sabu is voiced by Yukimasa Kishino. Teammates Two other characters are assigned to each team. Each can perform Special Moves. There are five types of teammates and they all have different colors and names. * Kamekichi (Kunio's team), Kaede (Miyuki's team), Makoto (Kenji's team) ** Thin, nerd/student-type characters wearing glasses. Their Normal Shot Type is 3 hits and it is powerful, but their shooting speed is too low. Their counter technique is not very good. * Musashi (Kunio's team), Hiromitsu (Shinji's team), Gonzou (Misuzu's team) ** Fat, bald men. Their jump height is the lowest but their counter technique is excellent. Their special moves are also great. * Keiko (Miyuki's team), Akemi (Sabu's team), Kozue (Riki's team) ** The athletic ladies with short hair. Their ground shots are weak, but their jumping shots are strong. They are the only teammates with an invulnerable counter technique at startup. * Jyoji (Kenji's team), Takuya (Sabu's team), Akira (Shinji's team) ** Delinquent-type looking characters, they are practically a weaker version of Kenji. * Kiyoshi (Misuzu's team), Ushimaru (Riki's team) ** Jock-looking types with rugby equipment. Their Shoot Type is Normal 2 Hits. Their normal shots are slightly stronger than those of the captain characters. Other characters D.B. Maou The game's non-playable final boss, who wants to destroy the sport of dodge ball. D.B. Maou was once a star Dodge Ball player, but he lost his wife when he caused an accident during one of his games. This is the reason for his hatred of the sport. He has two forms in the game. He is voiced by Daisuke Gōri. * Daa & Boo ** Minions of Maou, they look exactly like the Jock-type characters. * Angela (voiced by: Sara Nakayama) ** Maou's daughter, the game's announcer and referee. After D.B. Maou is defeated, she persuades him to change his mind on the sport, and he promises to hold a fair and square tournament next time. Trivia * D.B. Maou's second form bears a resemblance to Shoko Asahara, the founder of the Japanese doomsday-cult Aum Shinrikyo. He masterminded the Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995, and Super Dodge Ball was released in 1996. D.B. Maou's stage is filled with Buddhism imagery and the cult is a Buddhist new religious movement in Japan. Some Japanese players believe that this connection is part of the reason for the game not being released in Japan (the actual reason was the bankruptcy of Technōs Japan)Rumors on why the game was never released in Japan (Japanese). Gallery Screenshots Sdodgeb technoso.png|Technōs Japan screen Sdodgeb title.png|Title screen Spdodge demo1.png|Demo gameplay Spdodge demo2.png|Demo gameplay Spdodge demo3.png|Demo gameplay Sdodgeb instruct.png|How to Play Sdodgeb select.png|Team Select screen Sdodgeb versus.png|Versus screen Sdodgeb_gameplay.png|Gameplay in Misuzu's stage Sdodgeb clash.png|Captains compete for the ball Sdodgeb special.png|One of Kunio's Special Moves Sdodgeb counter.png|Miyuki's Counter Technique Sdodgeb defeat.png|Kunio is knocked out of the game Sdodgeb teammate.png|One of Kunio's teammates performs a Counter Technique Videos File:【Neogeo】くにおの熱血闘球伝説 くにおチーム「くにおくん幻の作品」【920kun】 External links * Nekketsu Video Game Blog References Category:Sports Games Category:Games Category:Neo Geo